Litvinenko was traitor seeking conflict, says murder suspect

The prime suspect in the murder of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko said yesterday that the former spy was a "traitor" whose death was caused by his own "reckless way of life" and "imprudent choice of associates".

Andrei Lugovoi, a Russian politician and businessman, denies killing Litvinenko, who died in 2006 after drinking a cup of tea laced with a rare radioactive isotope in a London hotel.

But in an interview yesterday, Lugovoi admitted the allegations had boosted his political career in Russia, where he was elected to parliament last December. "Some like to say that there are two types of people who support me: those who saw how the entire western world was attacking me and come to my defence; the others think 'Well, what if you were involved in the killing of Litvinenko, so what? He was a traitor, wasn't he?' I don't mind either. Let people think what they want," he told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

Russian authorities say they cannot hand Lugovoi over to the UK as their constitution forbids the extradition of citizens. Since his election to Russia's Duma as a deputy for the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic party, Lugovoi also enjoys immunity from prosecution in Russia.

Asked if he considered Litvinenko a traitor, Lugovoi replied: "Yes, and I have said so before. If he was working for the British intelligence services ... then he was a traitor." He said did not believe Litvinenko deserved his fate: "I wouldn't say that. I am not God. I can't decide who lives and who dies. But he was constantly seeking out and creating conflict. As we say in Russia, he was sticking his nose in places where a dog would not stick his tail. And so what happened to him was most likely due to his imprudent choice of associates and general reckless way of life."

Litvinenko, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, ingested a large dose of polonium-210 during a meeting with Lugovoi at the Millennium hotel, in London. From his deathbed, he accused the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, of organising his murder, and intelligence sources say the use of polonium indicates the involvement of figures in the Russian state.

Scotland Yard has named Lugovoi, a former KGB bodyguard, as the prime suspect. The Crown Prosecution Service believes there is enough evidence to charge him with murder, and Moscow's refusal to extradite has helped bring relations between Britain and Russia to their lowest point in 20 years. Diplomatic skirmishes have included the closure of British Council offices in Russia, tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats and restrictions on visas for Russian officials.

But Lugovoi said that broader political differences rather than Litvinenko's murder were the cause of ongoing tensions. "I am not a cause of these differences. I am a consequence of the fact that neither the US nor the UK like the way Russia is developing."